Evidence for Different Components in Children's Visuospatial Working Memory

Mammarella, Irene C.; Pazzaglia, Francesca; Cornoldi, Cesare

British Journal of Developmental Psychology, v26 n3 p337-355 Sep 2008

There are a large number of studies demonstrating that visuospatial working memory (VSWM) involves different subcomponents, but there is no agreement on the identity of these dimensions. The present study attempts to combine different theoretical accounts by measuring VSWM. A battery composed of 13 tests was used to assess working memory and, in particular, the hypothesized mechanisms involved in the tasks, that is, active processing and passive recall of visual versus sequential-spatial versus simultaneous-spatial versus verbal tasks. The battery consisted of a number of tests already used in previous studies and new tests developed to examine specific components of working memory. We analysed the psychometric characteristics of the tests, the correlations amongst measured variables and estimated the measured variables with structural equation modelling in children attending third and fourth grades. Results revealed that the best model was composed of a specific verbal factor, three visuospatial passive factors (sequential-spatial, simultaneous-spatial, and visual) and one visuospatial active factor.